Reviewers:

Samm91: What? You expect me to write sauce every time there is a bed involved?! I painted them! Oh geez.

Kingred1994: I don't know, Kingred. Working remote AFTER COVID and all that? Would his company even allow that?

BirdManJon: Oh gosh, did I infer that? Oh course not...maybe...implied is a strong word...read on? Yeah, I'll go with that. And as for sauce, not you too! Geez twice!

AN: What is with my readers lately?! Are you all just wanting me to SAUCE it up every time my two lovebirds make cooing sounds? I suppose you want me to add Ino into that mix of mud wrestling too?...Well...I'll debate it, but I did not expect my sauce to be soooo...potent?

I guess all I can do is write some more.

Enjoy

Glazed Emeralds: A Hallmark Story

Chapter 21: Freely Falling

"Mmm...this is what I need." Ino moaned as she smelled the wafting steam from her coffee cup. This was one of her addictions; she had to have it every morning and even though it was a little later in the morning, sometimes she just wanted to sleep in and then enjoy the smell.

Taking the cup with her, Ino moved from her kitchen to the doorway of her house before sliding on her boots. Ino brought the cup to her lips and sighed as she gulped. After a brief second, Ino frowned as she looked down at the contents. 'Still not as good as Sakura's.'

She didn't know how her best friend did it; making the best coffee in town. Ino used unfiltered water just as Sakura told her to, they used the same materials, but every day, Ino was tempted to go for breakfast for the coffee. Hence how she met Naruto; to steal his coffee.

"She probably just has more experience than me." Ino muttered as she did her hair in the mirror. 'Oh well!' Ino shrugged as she twirled to appreciate her outfit for the day. She had an hour to kill before Chouji came over to pick up his order of animal feed for his farm. She may as well head on down to the store and relax.

Humming lightly, Ino stepped out of her house and headed down the staircase. Her upper floor the land office, and lower floor the general store. If she ever decided to get another door installed for the back end for the large warehouse behind her, then she would never have to leave her property.

"Hmm hmm…" Ino skipped down the steps, frolicking playfully by herself. What a nice morning, the sun was out, her hair wasn't a mess for once, and maybe today she could-

"Eep!" Ino bit her tongue, her eyes widening at the sight of her best friend leaning against the trade post counter, her fingers tapping along the fine wood nervously. She was looking down at the counter, so she hadn't seen or noticed Ino yet, so Ino gazed at her friend in wonder.

'How did she get in here? Wasn't the door locked?' Ino questioned herself before shaking her head. No; Sakura had the spare key. She could just walk in. But surely the breakfast hour was over, so why was she here? Ino recalled that they were to meet up this afternoon, but why was she so nervous?

Ino shook off these questions. Her friend needed her. "Hey Sakura. Boy, you're early today. What's up?"

Sakura nervously looked up, and Ino instantly saw that her friend hadn't slept at all. It wasn't a sexed up sleepless feeling either, from what she could tell. Sakura would not be so nervous otherwise. Something had kept her awake. Makeup could hide a lot and most guys wouldn't be able to tell, but Ino could. She knew makeup, and she knew Sakura as only a best friend could. She hadn't slept at all last night, had she?

"I'm in trouble." Sakura whispered, her voice dry and lacking hydration as her tone was low and hollow.

"What do you mean?" Ino craned her neck around the room, stretching out her limbs as she moved down the rest of the stairs. A fun thought came to her that someone else could make her feel better a lot faster than her.

"Where is your boy toy, Sakura?"

"I sent him out on an errand for me." Sakura pushed off on the question, her eyes nervously looking away.

All want for playing around vanished for Ino. If Sakura wasn't correcting her on Naruto being her toy, then this must be serious. She joined her friend on the opposite side of the counter, looking over.

"What's up?"

Red hue began to emanate from Sakura's cheeks, reminding Ino of how Sakura looked back in high school when she was admitting a secret. It's what Ino first loved when they became the forever friends they were today. Sakura leaned closer, and whispered. "I think...I think I'm falling for Naruto…"

For a split second, Ino's eyes were as wide as saucers. A rush of excitement flooded through her body and rushed to her throat to scream and laugh and cry out in joy, but Ino held it down. She had to. This was the moment that she'd been hoping for the last six years. She'd been working on this since Sakura began to get better, opening the Inn and this was the final step to become who she was always meant to be.

Naruto was totally the man for her! Ino felt it in her bones! Just shy of three weeks and she was positive the two loved each other, and now Sakura was realizing it too! This was perfect and-...Ino calmed her thoughts. 'This could also still end badly.' Naruto hadn't moved here officially. Sakura was a nervous wreck now when it came to romance. She had to play this out. 'Go slow Ino,' she told herself, 'go slow.'

"Why do you lov- why do you think so?" Ino bit her tongue. 'Don't use the L word. Don't spook her.' Sakura was like a deer right now, with her eyes wide and searching for answers all around her. Too much too fast and she'd try to distance herself, but she'd hurt herself more if she did so. Ino knew what was best for Sakura's heart. Now she just had to encourage her to step closer to the heart opposite her own.

Sakura shriveled into herself, her arms squeezing tighter around herself. "I...I told him about my past with Sasuke."

Inside her mind, Ino was stunned. She gave that information up to another? By the lack of tears, she guessed that Naruto had taken that information well. She knew he was the right guy for her! On the outside, Ino nodded along. "You never told anyone but me what happened, so I know just how hard it meant for you to tell him." Ino finished by grabbing Sakura's hand and squeezing it reassuredly. Sakura quirked a thankful smile over to her before going back to her own little world, letting Ino direct the questions that Sakura wanted to get off her chest.

"When did you tell him?"

"About two nights ago. That was the first night we didn't…" Sakura gulped as her voice died, but Ino understood. It was no illusion to believe that after Sakura had opened up that since then, they'd been in her room fucking every night. The whole town knew, being as small as they were, and the beaming smile in the mornings had people happy for her. They'd had their first night without that rush of adrenaline to separate their thoughts.

"When did you find out you were falling?"

"T-The moon was so beautiful…I couldn't stop kissing him…thinking about how he…I mean…L-last night…"

Ino leaned forward, smiling. It figured that after they took a real break from the adrenaline and rush of a huge sexual appetite, that only then would Sakura realize that her heart was merging with his.

Ino blushed as her legs clenched. She wished she had a guy like Naruto in the bedroom. A number of the girls were envious of Sakura. She had the best business in town, she was beautiful, sweet, and now had sex twenty times a day!

'This isn't about that!' Ino screamed at herself. 'Focus on Sakura!'

"These feelings, Sakura," Ino rubbed her hand with the pad of her thumb. "Did they grow over time?"

Sakura tried to speak, but Ino could understand that words were hard on the subject at hand. "They just...appeared last night. I was just watching him sleep…I really like watching him sleep…something was different though…I couldn't understand what it was…and I was thinking how he accepted me for me, and suddenly my heart just…"

Sakura brought her hand over her heart and clenched. "...These new feelings were suddenly there, Ino, screaming at me, as if they were always there and I just took off my blinders. I still can't process it properly. I mean, my breathing was slow and calm, but my mind was racing in circles...I was next to him, Ino, but I wanted to be closer than that...I wanted to be right beside him, my skin with his…"

"Yep." Ino nodded, smiling guiltily as she sighed. What Sakura just said felt so romantic. Ino wished she could feel that way about someone right now. "That's falling for him, alright." Ino grinned widely. "So this is serious now, huh?"

"I don't know!" Sakura suddenly screamed, and Ino realized she'd been too fast. Sakura's exterior broke, her voice cracking as she thrashed her head into her hands against the counter.

Ino rushed around the counter and held her friend while she tightly clung to her for a lifeline. Ino mentally beat herself. She'd made a bad assumption. Sakura wasn't here to admit she liked Naruto. She was here because she didn't know what to do now that she did. "It's okay, Sakura. It's okay."

"So...do you want to be with Naruto?" Ino quietly asked ten minutes later after the tears had subsided.

Sakura sniffled and wiped at her eyes against Ino's shirt. "Yes...or no? I-I can't decide, Ino." Sakura backed up and paced back and forth nervously between the counter and the racks of clothes. "This isn't what we agreed on. This was fun, it was exhilarating, it was natural!"

"Sakura...you're using the past tense."

"Huh?" Sakura looked over and her eyes widened with a blush. "Yeah…"

"What you and Naruto have done feels natural. That's good, right?"

"Right … I mean...he's just such a great guy, Ino! He's always smiling at me, leering with perversion in his eyes that just lights a spark in me, you know? His heart is so big! He accepts my angry moments when I'm feeling stressed, he doesn't judge me for my past or my ignorance, he's just…just…"

"-He's there for you." Ino finished as Sakura tearfully nodded in agreement.

Sakura's eyes teared up more as she looked over to her best friend. "But...but he's leaving in a little more than a week. Shouldn't I cut this off before I get hurt?"

"Oh Honey," Ino shook her head, stepping up to grip her shoulder fondly. "I think you're already primed for getting burned."

Sakura shivered as the truth of her words hit her full force. Ino was right. She was already in the deep end of the pool, and the edges were so far away. Tears welled up in her eyes at the hopeless realization that once he left, she'd be alone again. She'd be in the Inn every day, but without his presence, without his smile…

"But maybe it won't come to that…"

"...What?" Sakura croaked, looking to her friend in confusion.. What did she mean? Naruto was leaving, and she would be burned. What else was there?

Meanwhile, Ino smiled at her secret knowledge. Just yesterday, Shikamaru had come in for supplies, and upon her gossiping pressure, had blatantly told her how the guys all wanted Naruto to stay around. They really liked hanging with him at the lake and felt he was a great addition to the township. That, and Shikamaru had let slip that he thought Naruto was already in love with Sakura. So smiling, Ino offered the alternative to Sakura's otherwise dismal thoughts.

"Maybe he'll decide to stay."

'Stay?' Sakura thought sluggishly. 'Stay where? Here?' A rogue giggle emerged from her lips. "Why would he do that, Ino? He has a well paying job in the city. He wouldn't give that up just to sit around a small town like this."

Ino shrugged nonchalantly, trying to say things to convince her friend. "I don't know about that. He's been talking to everyone in town, Sakura. He's getting to know everyone pretty well too. Not just about the simple things. Deep history and hobbies too. That sounds like he's committing to me."

But Sakura just shook her head, not believing in the newfound hope. "No, he's just so friendly, Ino. He makes connections with people so easily. That's why he's so good at his job. Conflict resolution specialist. He learns about people, bonds with them, and w-walks away with...t-their...f-faith in him." Sakura stalled out, the tears sliding out again.

Ino creased her brow. This was not supposed to be that hard. Sakura loved him, she was sure of that, but the armor she wore to protect herself was now slowly killing off her hope. The armor was sticking to her skin, but Sakura was refusing to pull it off. Ino knew that Sakura had to act now before it was too late. She had to alter her behavior, show Naruto that she wanted him to stay.

"And speaking of reasons to stay, Sakura. He has his land, doesn't he? Next to yours and all."

Sakura looked away in shame, her eyes downcast. "H-he and I haven't really talked about it...w-we don't really talk about that stuff."

Ino widened her eyes. When Naruto first got here, that was all Sakura wanted to talk about. How to void his land deal so that she could take it, how she could buy him out over time, how Sakura could rent the land. Why weren't they discussing that? Naruto was leaving so that needed to be settled before he left!

"Sakura, that's a really serious topic to leave out. I thought you two had worked it out already. I mean, you've been fucking so much yet you haven't talked about it? Why not?"

Sakura looked up, and Ino realized everything that her best friend had been going through. Sakura must have been denying her heart this whole time. She may have only last night realized her love, but in her subconscious, she'd already fallen for the man in her bed. Her inner self had been stalling...denying her outer self from realizing, and shoving it down deep where the light couldn't follow...because...if they didn't talk about the land...then Naruto might...just stay until they did.

"Oh Sakura." Ino sniffled as tears bubbled in Sakura's eyes, and trickled down her eyes.

"That...that just reminds me that he is leaving!" Sakura broke once again, and shoved her face into her welcomed bosom, as Ino hugged the life out of her. Ino let Sakura stifle her tears into her chest, holding in her own tears. She was hurting from this so much, and the best Ino could do was hug her? Some friend she was.

"Geez, Sakura." Ino ribbed her back in soothing motions. "You're really shook up by this. This is worse than…"

"Y-yeah." Sakura choked out, Ino hearing her friend easily accept the inferred reference to her departure from the big city.

"Sakura, don't you worry about this anymore. This is good. It's a good thing that you feel this way about him. It tells you that what you feel for him is real. I'm sure you love him."

"I don't!" Sakura frantically rubbed her face into Ino's shirt. "I-I can't…"

"Sakura," Ino pleaded. "Just accept it. It'll be fine if you accept how you feel. You'll feel amazing. I promise you!"

"I...I can't, okay?" Sakura's voice cracked, pushing and insisting her denial through a waterfall of tears. "I just...he's going to leave me here…my heart will break again...I can't go through that again."

"What if…" Ino questioned into her ear. "Maybe he comes back a few times a year."

Immediately, her shuddering stopped. Ino smiled at the success, and as Sakura sniffled and cleared her throat. "Y-you think he would?"

"Why not? He enjoys it here, doesn't he? Being with you?" Ino pushed back, gazing at Sakura to see her eyes glazing over at the thought.

"Y-you really think so?"

Ino shrugged. "Maybe Naruto will want to move out of the city in time. He could make plans for the future...and you could have him...eventually."

"Oh Ino…" Sakura sniffled. "D-do you...do you really think I could hope for that?"

Sakura smiled bitterly and hugged her deeply. Ino smiled as her grip tightened. She had assuaged Sakura's fears of love. She was going to give this budding romance a chance. But Ino wanted to push one more nail into the coffin as she turned Sakura to a mirror and looked at her through it.

"Can you imagine if he doesn't want to leave at all?"

At that, Ino watched with glee as Sakura's eyes glazed over at the absurd, but much welcomed thought. Ino smirked. 'Mission...Complete.'

AN: So the plot thickens